First joke!

Another momentous occasion around these parts:  Cole tells his first joke!

Declan 1 Year

A couple weeks ago, I was thrilled to do Cole's BFF Declan's one year photo shoot.  Kids are totally my favorite subjects to shoot because they are SO ADORABLE - and Declan is no exception!

Kisses, Hugs, Pats

If you've met my little mister, you know that he is a VERY loving little critter.  VERY.  He's touchy and feely and kissy and huggy.

A little TOO touchy and feely and kissy and huggy sometimes.

Like when his BFF Declan came over to visit a couple weeks ago.  Cole was SUPER excited to see him.  THRILLED.  As Declan was making himself comfortable in the rocking chair, Cole took advantage of the time to love on him.

Kisses, hugs, you name it.

 Tender loving pats on the head:

 Big hugs, complete with sound effects:

 and kisses...lots of kisses.  Cole couldn't figure out why Declan wouldn't hold his head still for all his kisses. (This was the moment I asked Cole if he could think of any different ways to show Declan how much he loved him, since his kisses were a little invasive in poor Declan's "bubble".)

 SO happy to see his friend!

 So then Cole decided to kiss Declan's "HAND!".  Maybe a little less invasive.

I have visions of future teachers calling me, saying that Cole knocked someone down on the playground from hugging them too hard.  I guess it's better than knocking someone down for fun, right?

Crater Lake

Obviously, someone hasn't sent the message to Southern Oregon that it's September and supposed to be FALL.

We've had temps in the high 90's all month - same forecast for all next week too.

And while I'm desperate for cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, fall decor, and cute winter boots, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather to make a trip up to Crater Lake, Oregon.  It's usually our go-to place to bring out-of-town guests, but we haven't been in several years.

As usual, it was gorgeous:

After our picnic lunch, we decided to do some exploring on our way home.  We stopped at The Rogue Gorge for a perfect little mini-hike (great for Cole's little legs):

And then, we stopped for ice cream.  Because our perfect day just needed a cherry on top!

 Cole was SO EXCITED!  Chris let him pick one of our flavors - of course Cole picked "CHOC-YATE!"

 One last photo op on the giant chair (Cole thought this was hilarious), and we were on our way home.

Necklace

Last year, I dropped a blatant hint on the blog about a gorgeous necklace I found - and Chris bought it for me!  It has Cole's name on it, so I had planned to order another smaller disc with Baby 2's name and birthstone.

Well...best laid plans and all that.  But I still wanted Baby 2 to be a part of the necklace, so I ordered a birthstone charm (in amythest, because even though my due date was January 31, I really thought it would have been a February baby). 

It feels like a fitting tribute to our angel baby.

Proof of Genius

Sorry, I have to take a minute to brag here.

Obviously, my child is awesome and amazing and brilliant and fantastic in every way.  Obvs.  But today? Today I have VIDEO PROOF of how amazing he is!

And you know how video proof is indisputable and everything.

The thing is, for some random reason, Cole knows all his letters.

I know what you're thinking - teacher mama, probably sits in front of him hours a day holding up flash cards, FORCING him to learn his letters.

Um, nope.

We have refrigerator letter magnets, and we have foam letters in the tub - and that's it.  If he points to a letter while we're reading, I'll tell him what it is.  But I don't ever "teach" him - we simply take advantage of teachable moments.

Also, I think it's partly Cole's personality.  I think he's just going to be that kind of kid - the kind who's really interested in things like letters and numbers.

So I'm hugely proud of my 25 month old child being able to identify all his letters (he doesn't even know the ABC song!) and I'm always trying to show it off to everyone ("Hey Cole!  What's this letter?"), but since my child also suffers from debilitating shyness in addition to his letter smarts, no one ever gets to appreciate his genius and instead I just get pitying looks ("Oh that poor mama.  She probably just wants us to THINK her child knows all his letters, when he actually can't even say his own name!  Braggart...").

Hence: the PROOF.  On video.  On very poor quality video, but there you are.

He can also count to ten:

And a bonus! Adorable animal noises for your entertainment:

Su and George

While Cole is still SUPER shy around people he's not familiar with, he is starting to get more quick to warm up to certain people. 

Specifically, anyone who reads to him or gives him a cookie.

Apparently, books and sugar are the quickest way to Cole's heart.

When we went up to Portland, Cole made fast friends with Auntie Meg's in-laws, Su and George:

It brings me so much joy to see Cole making friends and building relationships!